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Chapter One

"Protect this zoo with your life, Avianna. No one may know. No one... may..." 

Avianna jerked back into her chaotic, busy life. Her father's final words echoed distantly through her head, whispering, and threatening to pull her apart. Ever since her father had passed away two years ago, it had never been the same. He had always been there for her, taken care of her when she was sick, but now he was gone - forever. It wasn't like Avianna's mother could help her either, she had sadly passed away when Avianna was five, from a spell that went horribly wrong. At least they were together in heaven...

Shaking herself, Avianna grappled with five large buckets of spïndelspear pellets. It would have been easier just to use a simple spell to carry them, but she liked doing things by hand, without magic. It was more satisfying, and gave Avianna a sense of fulfillment, and completion. She halted abruptly in front of the door to the biome, and a few large, hand-sized pellets tipped out. Disregarding them, Avianna pulled out her chestnut wood wand, and extended it towards the door, while making a circular motion. With a loud whoosh, the door unlocked, and opened. Darting inside, Avianna briskly shut the door, to stop the spïndelspears from escaping. Letting out a deep breath, she relaxed, luckily none of the colossal animals had escaped. Last time Avianna had went to feed them, she inadvertently forgot to close the door as soon as she was inside. They had gotten out and ruined five of the biomes. It took Avianna five months to repair them, even with magic. 

Avianna took a deep breath, relishing the fresh, clean smell of the forest. Her dark blue eyes sparkled, this was her favourite biome. The towering trees seemed to softly murmur secrets to each other, secrets that she didn't know.  

Appearing out of the slim, tall trunks of the trees, the spïndelspears trundled towards Avianna, their large paws making a large imprint in the springy, moist, green moss. Their silvery fur shimmered in the warm light of the Sun. They seemed to sense that it was time for them to be fed. Reaching into the bucket, Avianna grasped a pellet in her hand. With a grunt, she lobbed the pellet as high into the air as she could. With a thunderous crunch, the largest spïndelspear reared up onto her hind legs and caught it. She downed it in one large gulp, looking pleased. 

After tossing thirty pellets, three for each of the silver animals, Avianna slowly walked around the group, examining them to make sure that none of them were injured or acting strangely. She lifted up the paws of each animal, and looked at their paw pads, making sure they were healthy. If their paws had started to turn black, it may have been a sign of the Black Plague, a disease that rapidly overpowers each of their immune systems. It steadily and viciously attacks vital organs, almost stopping them from working. The Black Plague causes a prolonged, agonizing death to the victim. Eventually, it will keep each of the organs from working, driving the animals into insanity, before killing them. 

After finishing her inspection, Avianna swivelled on her heel and turned to leave, her long, wavy, blonde hair fanning out behind her. Opening the door with a smooth flick of her wand, she waved a light-hearted goodbye to the spïndelspears. Avianna waltzed out of the door and then sealed it using a spell her mother created. She pirouetted, landing facing the rest of the doors.  

Avianna stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth gaping wide open. All of her joy disappeared in a second. Who could have done this?

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